1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to computer systems and, in particular, to graphical user interfaces. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to automatically adjusting window representations within a graphical user interface based on activity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most operating systems provide a graphical user interface (GUI) for controlling a visual computer environment. The GUI represents programs, files, and options with graphical images, such as icons, menus, and dialog boxes on the screen. Graphical items defined within the GUI work the same way for the user in most software because the GUI provides standard software routines to handle these elements and report the user's actions.
A typical graphical object defined by a GUI is a window or other defined area of a display containing distinguishable text, graphics, video, audio and other information for output. A display area may contain multiple windows associated with a single software program or multiple software programs executing concurrently.
Often when multiple graphical objects are displayed concurrently, the graphical objects will overlap. The order in which graphical objects are drawn on top of one another onscreen to simulate depth is typically known as the z-order. Typically, those objects at the top of the z-axis obscure the view of those graphical objects drawn below.
A general limitation of z-ordered windows is that as more windows are opened within a display area, windows that are at the bottom of the z-order may not remain visible. A user may select to minimize particular windows into icons or as part of a selectable pop-up list, however performing such actions requires bringing the particular windows first to the top of the z-order.
In some operating systems, a level of transparency or translucency may be applied to graphical objects, and in particular to windows. By applying a level of translucency to upper level windows, lower level windows are rendered visible through the upper level windows. Utilizing translucency is particularly advantageous such that multiple levels of windows within the z-order are visible at the same time.
A particular limitation of applying translucency to windows is that some windows may become so transparent that the window is no longer visible. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/059,088 describes adjusting the transparency of a window to reflect the resource usage associated with the window, sometimes leaving a window completely transparent and thus seemingly unavailable to the user.
Therefore, in view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a method, system, and program, for automatically minimizing windows that have reached a particular level of activity, including use of the window, a transparency applied to the window, and resource usage associated with the window.